6 ms·

Why bike? Man up and run everywhere.

agumonkey 5y ago
I can bike as fast as Usain Bolt runs. Also biking is a bit easier on your back and legs. It may harm shoulders and testicles though.
- notacoward 5y ago
  > I can bike as fast as Usain Bolt runs. ...which means absolutely nothing in terms of either ability or fitness. Sure, if you're time constrained, biking might be feasible where running is not. Otherwise it's just Easy Mode.
  - agumonkey 5y ago
    1) It was half a joke (implying I will never reach 35km/h with my legs) 2) OP was trying to go back into physical exercise, doing everything by bike is a great way to jump back. Running is amazing but your options are greatly reduced. I can use my bike to commute which means I don't have to allocate time for physical exercise. Aren't we all time constrained ? have a good day
- pengaru 5y ago
  > biking is a bit easier on your back and legs. It may harm shoulders and testicles though. Not when you actually consider the probabilities of getting injured in a crash/fall. I can't tell you the number of times I've been injured on two wheels. Once I was run over by an inattentive driver hitting my BMX, knocking me to the ground, driving over my leg. On other occasions I've broken my wrists, broken collarbone, countless instances of road rash and other wounds. Other people here are arguing you can cycle in snow and ice, lololol, been there, done that, have the scars to prove it. There's just no comparison in the context of "easier on your body". You can run/walk on sidewalks and trails with all the other pedestrians, away from cars. Cycling near massive vehicles driven by people addicted to taking selfies is so hazardous to your body it tends to kill it to death. If fitness is the goal, running is way more effective in the same unit of time than cycling. I've done both trail running and mountain biking on similar trails. Every time I get really into the trail running mode enough to have the necessary fitness to really execute, returning to my mountain bike feels like easy mode with heaps of unnecessary mechanical wankery thrown in mostly because it entertains my inner gearhead and gives me more things to play consumer whore shopping for and buying.
  - agumonkey 5y ago
    This is akin to say you can slip while jogging in a forest. At time I have to avoid the angry dog chasing me. So yeah if you bike fast around cars shit can happen. If you coast on small lanes in a village, you will catch yourself on your feet before falling off of your bike (and if not then don't use a bike you're not ready). I wasn't even "comparing" bike / feet. Just showing the potential pain points. I just couldn't jog because of my knees while I could bike (it actually helped said knees). I do prefer running for overall health... it involves more muscle groups and your respiration is also more intense (and so far I never had biking high, while running puts me in the zone.) Cheeers.
    - pengaru 5y ago
      > if you bike fast around cars shit can happen If you bike slowly around cars, bad shit is even more likely to happen. Have you ridden a motorcycle on roads before? It's infinitely safer than pedaling a bicycle among automotive traffic because you can at least keep up with the flow of traffic and behave in every sense as an automobile, in what is firmly the automobile's native land. In the US it's exceedingly rare to live in a village with dedicated bike trails you can safely coast along. We have roads full of carelessly driven cars everywhere. Riding bicycles on those roads is quite unpleasant to say the least, based on my experience. We have reported instances of assholes "rolling coal" not only deliberately smoking out cyclists, but in some cases flat out running them over. And we haven't even broached the subject of cycling being an acquired skill many adults plain suck at. It's complicated if you didn't grow up pedaling everywhere. Have you ever tried introducing an adult to cycling who didn't do it before? The only teaching experience more cringe-worthy I can recall was teaching someone with no manual transmission experience how to ride a motorcycle. All those moments have been hellish "I'm pretty sure I'm just helping this person get on a path leading to more convoluted self-harm" experiences. Getting them to go for a run doesn't even register anywhere on this particular map. Back when I moved to CA for my first startup job, I had to leave my partner and our pets back in IL for a few months with family while I found us an apartment. When my partner finally showed up she had her arm in a cast, wanna guess why? Bicycle crash. She didn't have much experience riding bicycles growing up in a sea of cycling-hostile 5+-lane Florida surface streets, and crashed riding my old bicycle with my nephew passing time while waiting to relocate. Imagine how annoying that must have been to bring two housecats through TSA alone with a newly broken arm. Yeah, go ride bicycles everywhere everyone! People that recommend everyone ride a bicycle everywhere seem to have absolutely no perspective rooted in reality. My "man up, run everywhere" comment was intended mostly tongue in cheek, but I'm willing to play devil's advocate in arguing it's obviously safer and more accessible than cycling. They're both ridiculously impractical in a world optimized for automobiles.
throwaway803453 5y ago
David Goggins is that you ? I have been exercising my entire life and running is the only activity that routinely gives me injuries that last for nearly a year. Most of us probably don't have the best form but watching Goggins get his knees drained last year made me question if humans were meant to run regularly past a certain distance and past a certain age.
- pengaru 5y ago
  > I have been exercising my entire life and running is the only activity that routinely gives me injuries that last for nearly a year What are you doing, running ultra-marathons?
  - throwaway803453 5y ago
    No, probably more dumb in the "man-up" sense: running immediately after waking in below freezing weather while it's still dark out without warming up or wearing warm clothes. I felt superhuman and that feeling is addictive. Perhaps that is why running injuries are so common ? You can't keep pushing yourself to deadlift more, for example, without it being painfully obvious your form is not right. And you just know that the person looking back in the mirror should not deadlift 315 lbs. But with running there is no obvious indication and the environmental factors keep changing. Then you're spending months stiff and in pain. You feel 20 years old one week and 90 years old the next.
    - notacoward 5y ago
      I've written a couple of reasonably well-received guides about running in a New England winter. As you've clearly learned, such activity is its own specialized thing, requiring its own habits and preparations even beyond running the rest of the year. My guides focus mainly on situational awareness (e.g. always knowing your escape route around piles of snow if a car comes along) and gear. You've identified a couple of gaps (e.g. the winter-specific dangers of running in the early morning) and reminded me that those guides are generally due for an update. Thank you.

I can bike as fast as Usain Bolt runs. Also biking is a bit easier on your back and legs. It may harm shoulders and testicles though.

notacoward 5y ago
> I can bike as fast as Usain Bolt runs. ...which means absolutely nothing in terms of either ability or fitness. Sure, if you're time constrained, biking might be feasible where running is not. Otherwise it's just Easy Mode.
- agumonkey 5y ago
  1) It was half a joke (implying I will never reach 35km/h with my legs) 2) OP was trying to go back into physical exercise, doing everything by bike is a great way to jump back. Running is amazing but your options are greatly reduced. I can use my bike to commute which means I don't have to allocate time for physical exercise. Aren't we all time constrained ? have a good day
pengaru 5y ago
> biking is a bit easier on your back and legs. It may harm shoulders and testicles though. Not when you actually consider the probabilities of getting injured in a crash/fall. I can't tell you the number of times I've been injured on two wheels. Once I was run over by an inattentive driver hitting my BMX, knocking me to the ground, driving over my leg. On other occasions I've broken my wrists, broken collarbone, countless instances of road rash and other wounds. Other people here are arguing you can cycle in snow and ice, lololol, been there, done that, have the scars to prove it. There's just no comparison in the context of "easier on your body". You can run/walk on sidewalks and trails with all the other pedestrians, away from cars. Cycling near massive vehicles driven by people addicted to taking selfies is so hazardous to your body it tends to kill it to death. If fitness is the goal, running is way more effective in the same unit of time than cycling. I've done both trail running and mountain biking on similar trails. Every time I get really into the trail running mode enough to have the necessary fitness to really execute, returning to my mountain bike feels like easy mode with heaps of unnecessary mechanical wankery thrown in mostly because it entertains my inner gearhead and gives me more things to play consumer whore shopping for and buying.
- agumonkey 5y ago
  This is akin to say you can slip while jogging in a forest. At time I have to avoid the angry dog chasing me. So yeah if you bike fast around cars shit can happen. If you coast on small lanes in a village, you will catch yourself on your feet before falling off of your bike (and if not then don't use a bike you're not ready). I wasn't even "comparing" bike / feet. Just showing the potential pain points. I just couldn't jog because of my knees while I could bike (it actually helped said knees). I do prefer running for overall health... it involves more muscle groups and your respiration is also more intense (and so far I never had biking high, while running puts me in the zone.) Cheeers.
  - pengaru 5y ago
    > if you bike fast around cars shit can happen If you bike slowly around cars, bad shit is even more likely to happen. Have you ridden a motorcycle on roads before? It's infinitely safer than pedaling a bicycle among automotive traffic because you can at least keep up with the flow of traffic and behave in every sense as an automobile, in what is firmly the automobile's native land. In the US it's exceedingly rare to live in a village with dedicated bike trails you can safely coast along. We have roads full of carelessly driven cars everywhere. Riding bicycles on those roads is quite unpleasant to say the least, based on my experience. We have reported instances of assholes "rolling coal" not only deliberately smoking out cyclists, but in some cases flat out running them over. And we haven't even broached the subject of cycling being an acquired skill many adults plain suck at. It's complicated if you didn't grow up pedaling everywhere. Have you ever tried introducing an adult to cycling who didn't do it before? The only teaching experience more cringe-worthy I can recall was teaching someone with no manual transmission experience how to ride a motorcycle. All those moments have been hellish "I'm pretty sure I'm just helping this person get on a path leading to more convoluted self-harm" experiences. Getting them to go for a run doesn't even register anywhere on this particular map. Back when I moved to CA for my first startup job, I had to leave my partner and our pets back in IL for a few months with family while I found us an apartment. When my partner finally showed up she had her arm in a cast, wanna guess why? Bicycle crash. She didn't have much experience riding bicycles growing up in a sea of cycling-hostile 5+-lane Florida surface streets, and crashed riding my old bicycle with my nephew passing time while waiting to relocate. Imagine how annoying that must have been to bring two housecats through TSA alone with a newly broken arm. Yeah, go ride bicycles everywhere everyone! People that recommend everyone ride a bicycle everywhere seem to have absolutely no perspective rooted in reality. My "man up, run everywhere" comment was intended mostly tongue in cheek, but I'm willing to play devil's advocate in arguing it's obviously safer and more accessible than cycling. They're both ridiculously impractical in a world optimized for automobiles.

throwaway803453 5y ago

David Goggins is that you ? I have been exercising my entire life and running is the only activity that routinely gives me injuries that last for nearly a year. Most of us probably don't have the best form but watching Goggins get his knees drained last year made me question if humans were meant to run regularly past a certain distance and past a certain age.

pengaru 5y ago
> I have been exercising my entire life and running is the only activity that routinely gives me injuries that last for nearly a year What are you doing, running ultra-marathons?
- throwaway803453 5y ago
  No, probably more dumb in the "man-up" sense: running immediately after waking in below freezing weather while it's still dark out without warming up or wearing warm clothes. I felt superhuman and that feeling is addictive. Perhaps that is why running injuries are so common ? You can't keep pushing yourself to deadlift more, for example, without it being painfully obvious your form is not right. And you just know that the person looking back in the mirror should not deadlift 315 lbs. But with running there is no obvious indication and the environmental factors keep changing. Then you're spending months stiff and in pain. You feel 20 years old one week and 90 years old the next.
  - notacoward 5y ago
    I've written a couple of reasonably well-received guides about running in a New England winter. As you've clearly learned, such activity is its own specialized thing, requiring its own habits and preparations even beyond running the rest of the year. My guides focus mainly on situational awareness (e.g. always knowing your escape route around piles of snow if a car comes along) and gear. You've identified a couple of gaps (e.g. the winter-specific dangers of running in the early morning) and reminded me that those guides are generally due for an update. Thank you.